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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. degree — from a university
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. face — to point toward
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. face — to confront
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. track — to keep track
  10. rule — government
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. degree — an amount
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. foot — a measure
  15. fork — in a road
  16. rest — what's left
  17. face — part of the head
  18. rule — a law
  19. track — a path
  20. rest — a break
  21. rest — what's left
  22. track — a song
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. degree — temperature

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com